6 Unimportant Thnigs That Make Me Happy

Jo-Lynne started this (or passed it along), and I just couldn't help myself. So, without further ado, here are 6 Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy:

1. gettng my hair done
2. massages
3. silence
4. taking a nice, long bath
5. having help (like the hubby getting groceries without me)
6. clear skin

What I Learned This Week

So, it's time again for What I Learned This Week. I did a lot this last week, so let's see if I can condense it.

1. It takes FOREVER to get from one place in the Seattle area to another. Between the traffic, the ferries, the freeways, the construction, the accidents, the distance. Holy crap!
2. No offense to my Washington friends, but some of the worst drivers in the world live in Washington state. They either drive slow or like crazy people. They follow too closely. They stay in the left lane while doing UNDER the speed limit. Agh!
3. It's fun to meet bloggy friends in person!
4. My cat pukes every time we leave for the weekend. I wish I knew why.
5. I am in better shape than I thought. I did 40 minutes on the eliptical this morning without dying.
6. My dog is a spaz. He ran and hid in the bathtub at the cabin when my BIL started shooting his gun and wouldn't come out. Then (hours later) he heard the other dogs barking at someting and came shooting out of the cabin to see what was going on - right through the brand new screen door.
7. A new screen door costs $50.
8. Housing on Bainbridge Island is WAY out of my price range, but it's a nice place to visit.
9. I love the smell of pumpkin pie - even in the summer. I got some new body scrub, and it's yummy!
10. I'm ready for fall already.

No, it's not all I think about...

Okay, so my funny life this week included a trip to visit Wendy, so this post is a little late! But keeping on the theme of my post from last week (which might also be my last acutal post - sorry for the slacking guys), I have potty-talk on the brain. While on vacation, we were visitng friends on Bainbridge Island. Their 2-year-old little girl was adorable with a capital "A". Curly blond hair, a sassy personality, oh my. Sunday night, they had a BBQ. A family with another girl the same age came. A 7-year-old girl decided to entertain the younger ones most of the evening. t one point, the two youngsters were playing in the red Radio Flyer wagon, and the older one came over and whispered to her mom, "One of those girls pooped! It smells." After much giggling, a grown-up went over to check it out. Our friends' little one had pooped so much that it was coming out everywhere: down the legs, up the back. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. All the adults burst out laughing. So loud that we made her cry. Sorry Sophia! My husband couldn't understand how poop could defy gravity and go "up". I tried to explain that there is only limited space in a diaper, and it has to go SOMEWHERE.

So, I'll try to get a post together later in the week about my vacation...

I'm trying to find the "funny" in this...

Don't you just LOVE Mondays? Actually, mine wasn't so bad at work. But the dogs decided to leave me a surprise at home... No, it was not doggy puke. That would have been preferrable. Expecially considering that I let them out twice before I went to work, just in case. Obviously that did NO GOOD.

Now, I wish I could express exactly how large the pile of poo was that they left for me, but there are just no words to do it justice, so I thought a picture might help, but I'm not sure that does it either. Beware: don't scroll down if you have a weak stomach. All I can say, is that I threw this gem in the toilet to dispose of it, and it clogged the toilet! Yes, it was THAT large!

And you know you're a real blogger when you think to take a picture of something like this before you pick it up - just so you'll have something to post! :) Life is funny. And I think there's a theme this week... Wanna play along???

Fun To-Do List

Okay, I got this idea from Daphne and thought I would see if I can come up with a list of my own:

1. Go to Seattle (next weekend).
2. Go camping in Stanley (in August).
3. Make a diaper bag for my friend Janel.
4. Take my dog Bear to the store today for his 2nd birthday!
5. Enjoy the produce I got yesterday at the farmer's market.
6. Go golfing before the weather gets cold and snowy again.
7. See the botanical gardens in Boise.
8. Art in the Park in September.
9. Finish reading some of the half-read books I've got sitting around.
10. Get a massage - soon!

Can you think of anything else I need to do?

Okay, so I'll play along.

Earlier this week Kirsten posted 7 things about herself, but she didn't tag anyone to play along. I was going to join in when I first read it, but then I got distracted, so here we go:

1. I love sleep more than almost anything.


2. I'm a dietitian who hates exercise. I know how important it is for good health and weight control, but that doesn't mean I like doing it or that I find it easy to motivate myself to go there.


3. Procrastination is the name of the game. I'm terrible at getting things done on time or getting to places on time. I really need to work on that!


4. Today is my daddy's birthday - and I'm a bad daughter and didn't get him anything yet. He never tells me what he wants, and I just got him something for Father's Day. How am I supposed to come up with something else?


5. I love old houses with original floors and woodwork. I wish I had one, but it would be a lot of work. We tried to buy one recently, but it didn't work out. We took that as a sign that maybe we shouldn't move.


6. I'm really good at starting books, but I'm not so good at finishing them. I probably have at least 7 or 8 books sitting around at the same time that I'm partway through.


7. I love animals. If my husband would let me, I'd adopt about a million of them (which would drive me nuts, I'm quite sure, but I just turn to a pile of mush evertime I see a puppy or a dog that needs a good home).

Want to play along?

Time for Fave Fridays, so here are my 5 favorites this week:

1. Good friends. I realized this week how wonderful some of my friends are. They are caring and supportive, and I'm so grateful for them.
2. Flooring. We picked out new flooring for our living room (cork) and bedroom (hardwood) this week. I am so excited for it to come in and to get it installed. I hate carpet! It's just not compatible with 2 dogs and a cat.
3. Orgaization. I've started cleaning out my sewing room this week (again!), and it's so nice to be able to find stuff. It was so scary in there, that I hadn't used that room in months. Now maybe I can finish organizing it today...
4. Having enough. We are so blessed to not worry about having enough food or paying our bills, etc. Some people are not so lucky.
5. My bed. It's the most comfy place in the universe!

The Theory of Men, er, Boys

Well, it's that time of the week again. But to tell you the truth, I can't really think of anything that I've learned this week. Okay, that's probably not true, but I'm not really all that into learning life lessons these days. I think I've had enough for awhile.

But I did learn that being poked is really annoying (thanks, Wendy!). Apparently we both have husbands who like to act like they are 4 years old and think it is really amusing to poke you until you scream somthing like, "CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M NOT IN A GOOD MOOD? YOU ARE SUCH A JERK. GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!", or, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO ANNOYING? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACT LIKE A GROWNUP?"

This brings me to my theory on men. If you've heard it before, just bear with me. It goes like this: All men are either 4 or 14. There are no other ages. All men possess the capability of being BOTH 4 and 14 (though never/rarely at the same time). But they vascillate between these two ages from minute to minute or hour to hour, depending on what influences are operating. But this means that you can always could on them being either silly and childish (and highly annoying) or hormonal, cranky, and/or (sorry, mom!) horny.

They do all possess the capability of being their actual genetic age for 5 minutes each day, and if you are lucky, you'll get to be around when that happens. Now, I've told this theory many times, and like all good theories it allows some room for error and changes slightly as factual evidence presents itself that is contrary to such stated theory (which is rare). I never hear any disagreement from women. Men usually agree that it's mostly true, but will never own up to it!

Oh, and on a totally different track, I also learned this week that I have some amazing, supportive friends. Some of these people know who they are and some probably have no idea, but I love you all. Thank you!

Xanax anyone?

Well, it's time again for Life is Funny. My life has been anything but funny this last week, but I'm going to try to be a good sport and play along.

I was at work yesterday, ranting and raving about a situation with a co-worker. This is a situation that would have normally caused aggravation, but was more distressing than normal due to to other circumstances from the week (click here to read about my weekend). I must have been flying off the handle and a little irrational, because one friend looked at the other and said, "Do you have any Xanax in your office? I think she needs some Xanax."

It's nice to know that my friends are there for me with offers of drugs whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed!

Hmmm...

I stole this from Lissa...

I am... doing as little as possible today.

I feel... disappointed.

I see... that it's time to "furminate" the cat again -there's hair all over the couch where I was just petting her. Thankfully, leather cleans easily.

I need... to clean up my sewing room, so I'm actually not scared to go in there.

I love... my family, my hubby, my dogs (and the cat most of the time).

I wish... that I was pregnant.

I think... too much.

I hear... the TV and the hubby playing the banjo.

I crave... balance, and peace.

I fear... not being in control.

I hope... that I can accept whatever comes my way.

Okay, is this "whole foods" enough for you?

So, everyone is big on eating whole, homemade foods lately and eating local stuff, etc., etc. My husband made the best dinner tonight. Yum, yum. For those who don't know, he is a stupdendous cook. For those who do know, I bet you're jealous already, aren't you?

He took some Spanish chorizo, cubed it up and browned it in a skillet with garlic and these gorgeous onions we bought at the farmer's market.

Then he added the greens from the beets that we also bought at the farmer's market (we saved the actual beets for later), put the lid on and let them steam. He also started some canned, diced tomatoes (tomatoes are just NOT in season yet here) in a stock pot with a little vodka, because Alton Brown said that alcohol brings out the flavor of tomatoes, and we're all about living and dying by Alton Brown's food philopsophy. He dumbed in chicken broth (which was NOT homemade, but it was organic), basil, bay leaf (a lot), oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, and the chorizo mix from the other pan and let it simmer. We served it with a baguette (baked locally at Winco probably from not-local ingredients but always yummy) that was drizzled with a little locally made garlic oil and roasted under the broiler. Yum!

Disappointed

So, it's been a roller coaster of a week! And I haven't posted a bit. I'm becoming a slacker in that area lately. I guess I need to pick up my game a bit, huh?

I have been so nervous on the pregnant/not pregnant issue. And I'm emotionally worn out. So, I got my blood test done Friday. It was 31.1 which is a very low negative. I had been waiting anxiously all day to find out. The hubby even took me out shopping and to look at home improvement projects, but I just couldn't relax. Then those results came. Which are basically inconclusive. At 2 weeks after the IUI, the results should have been higher than that. The nurse said it could either mean late implantation or that the pregnancy wasn't healthy.

Well, today I got my answer. It meant that it was fertilized but it didn't take for some reason. I just "started" this morning and have lovely cramps that I don't appreciate (though at this point the Tylenol is kicking in).

I guess my question now is, what next? We had already decided to stop trying for awhile since insurance wasn't going to cover the meds anymore, and it's $2000 or more a month for that. But this gives me just enough hope that I don't want to quit. But at the same time I don't think I can take it anymore right now. The effects of the drugs, the short-term pregnancy hormones, and my anxious/stressed state have all made me craky, irritable, and just plain emotional. And my heart has had enough for awhile as well. And there's this part of me that knows that God can make it work without any meds or doctors involved if He deems that it's time. I just felt like I was SO close this time! AGH!

Funny Times on the Water

Okay, so I just was catching up on my blog reading and read this post from April. It reminded me of a story, and since it's time (or past time) for Life is Funny, I thought I'd let you all in on it.

So, when we lived in New Hampshire, we used to go rafting on the Merrimack River a lot. Our dog (we only had Brenna at the time) would swim and swim, and we would enjoy the day. We'd pack a lunch and use the motor to go up the river and paddle/float (mostly back down). There were some beach areas that you could only get to from the water. It was quite enjoyable.

Well, one time while we were out there, it started to get stormy. Now this wasn't just your average storm. This was the thunder and lightening, boiling, ominous dark clouds kind of storm. We decided to high-tail it out of there. Until it started raining. And the lightening got closer. (Just a side note: water is not a good place to be when lightening is out and about.) We pulled over and tried to wait it out on the beach. But it just got worse and worse. We finally decided to make a break for it and get out of there as fast as we could. Well, we were making good time, even though we were soaked to the skin. And then when we were almost to the boat landing, we hit the "real" rain. You could literally see a wall of water up ahead. It was like the rain drew a line behind where it decided to drop buckets. Cold, wet buckets. It was lovely. Really. I'm sure I wasn't laughing at the time, but now I find it truly hilarious.

To this day, my husband is still surprised that I didn't kill him. Not that it was his fault, but I usually freak out during times like this.

What? You don't find this funny? Well, then go check out this post: http://wendiaarons.com/2009/06/summer-by-the-numbers.html

No Blogging on a Holiday Weekend

So, I spent the weekend camping. I was out of cell phone and internet range for the whole weekend - how relaxing! But why does enjoying nature mean you have to be filthy and smell like a sewer?